Gifts can have a strong, positive effect on the recipient. The right gift at the right time is a delightful experience that can seal the deal for a business relationship and build a trust-filled, reciprocal relationship. One survey found that 80% of potential customers said they are more likely to become customers of companies that provide them with the gift of personalized experiences.

Gifts tell people that you or your organization cares about the recipient enough to do something nice for them. They can also be a great way to strengthen your brand image. If you create an emotional connection to your brand with someone, the lifetime value of that brand connection increases by 306%.

Even something as simple as sending mail can make people feel valued. If you’ve ever looked into an empty mailbox, you know that the experience is very different from looking in and seeing a well-chosen gift sitting there. Here are some other facts about mail you may not have realized:

• 81% of people look at it the day they get it, even if they discard it.
• 79% think direct mail is more convenient than email because they don’t have to go online to see it.
• 75% open direct mail.
• 40% of campaigns with direct mail succeed in acquiring customers, and 27% sell more goods than campaigns without it.
• 38% of recipients respond to how well the mail has been done. Something of good quality reinforces the brand.

Unfortunately, gifts can also be complicated. An inappropriately expensive gift, a low-quality gift or a gift that offends someone can all cause damage.

Keep in mind; a gift is not the same as an incentive. There are no preconditions; if someone has to reach a goal to get something, then whatever they get is a reward and not a gift. If it is part of an agreed-to benefit package, it is also not a gift.

Gifts from an organization can be divided into two kinds: those for customers or potential customers and those for employees.

Start with potential customers. Inexpensive gifts are often handed out at events or in return for someone’s email address. At a convention, a company might choose to give away all kinds of branded merchandise to whoever stops by the company’s booth: caps, hoodies, stationery and even bottles of water are all possibilities. In exchange for an email address, it’s common for companies to give away digital goodies such as short books, informative infographics or white papers.

Many conventions have been postponed, canceled or moved online. That doesn’t mean you can’t give gifts to potential customers:

• Allyoop, which sells beauty and body care products to women, sends gifts before scheduled phone calls and as part of their direct mail. Connect rates for calls and completion rates for meetings both increased 20%, the reply rate for direct mail went up to 45% and the conversion rate increased to 25%.
• AlterG, a medical device company, sends potential customers an Amazon gift card and a custom tumbler after a sales call. The campaign’s ROI was 434%, and the pipeline value of the 34 new opportunities this campaign created was more than $1 million.
• LiveRamp sent gifts along with direct mail invitations. Response rates were more than 30%, response time decreased 90%, and conversions to meetings from cold contacts increased 35%.

For longterm customers, you might want to choose a gift that is better than swag but not expensive enough to break any rules. It should also be clear that you are only saying thank you and have no expectation of special treatment in return. Many organizations have limits on how big a gift can be. For example, a basket of food or dinner and a show might be acceptable, but not if either one is unusually expensive. An association magazine subscription is a surprisingly good gift because it is direct mail, and people like getting direct mail. More than that, it helps you strengthen your relationship with association members.

Employee gifts can be used to retain your best employees and to keep morale high. Although it is vital to offer competitive wages and a good benefits package, and things like casual Fridays may also play a role, don’t stop there. You could offer a business retreat for staff where you provide an enjoyable experience combined with team-building exercises. Give people a chance to complete pleasant and interesting group tasks that allow them to socialize outside their regular departments. Provide lower-level employees and senior managers time to become better acquainted as they develop and share their skills and ideas.

Some companies allocate part of the budget so managers can reward exceptional accomplishments. They might reward employees who:

• Close an important sale
• Complete a training program
• Do a particularly good job with customers
• Have a milestone event to celebrate
• Put in long hours to complete a vital deadline
• Save the company money by suggesting an improvement

A gift card or a voucher might be a good gift in this situation. In a case where a group of employees achieves something notable, go for a group reward. That is admittedly trickier in a COVID-19 world where you can’t just rent out a movie theater for the entire company or get everyone tickets to a sporting event, but come up with something that involves everyone.